Reward
by Emmy-Bue
Summary: Set during and after The End of Time. Rose and the Meta-Crisis Doctor are finally adjusting to their life together in Pete's World, but unforeseen circumstances may pull them apart. Back in the Doctor's World, the Tenth Doctor is regenerating, but may be given one last chance to get his Reward.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi y'all! This is my very first fanfic ever, so reviews are much appreciated! This is completely unbeta'd, so there will probably be some spelling or grammar errors. Feel free to point those out in reviews and I'll be more than happy to fix those! Thanks so much! Also, you can follow me on Tumblr if you want, my url is the same as my penname. I may post updates or information about updates there before I do here! Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the related characters.**

* * *

Eight months had passed since the Meta-Crisis Doctor and Rose Tyler stood on Bad Wolf Bay and watched the Doctor dematerialize out of their lives forever. Eight months had gone by since Rose broke down crying on the same damn beach she had cried on all those years ago when her Doctor vanished from her life the first time, the same damn beach that she thought she would never have to return to once she found him. Still, life went on, and the world continued to turn, however slowly, with Rose Tyler coming to terms with her new reality.

The Meta-Crisis Doctor, now called "Dr. John Noble" legally, was now working along alongside Rose as the Director of Science for Torchwood. He and Rose had slowly begun to rekindle their relationship over the past three months, as the first five months consisted of Rose freezing out the Doctor, as well as Pete and the Torchwood team working to help assimilate the Doctor into the new world. Eventually Rose had begun talking to him again, which proved to be quite helpful, considering the status as co-worker. Now he and Rose were beginning to talk and laugh as they did before their separation at Canary Warf, something that left the Doctor quite pleased. He couldn't help but notice that the improvement in their relationship helped to encourage the small piece of TARDIS coral to grow faster, which also pleased him.

Over the last eight months, when not trying to improve his relationship with Rose or grow the TARDIS in Earth soil ("It's amazing you humans can grow anything in this stuff," he would say, "Remind me to bring you Tylers some soil from Frellian XII's Jungle Biome once this thing is grown. Best soil you'll ever garden with."), the Doctor spent a fair amount his time using Torchwood's remarkably advanced medical center to learn about his new half-Human biology. Particularly, today he was trying to figure out the cause of some agonizing headaches he had been experiencing several times a week.

"Doctor, I know you're not used to Human illnesses because of your old 'Superior Time Lord Biology,'" Rose said, sitting on the counter in one of the rooms in the medical center as the Doctor was waiting for the results of some sort of computer scan to print, "However, we humans get migraines sometimes, and I don't think they're worth getting in a panic over."

"I know that Rose, but there's something that could happen, related to being part human, but with a Time-Lord mind. But don't you worry Rose it's highly unlikely. Well, I say highly unlikely..." He trailed off and continued to peer at the computer screens through his "Brainy Specs", as he called them.

"You said that, yeah, but it would be really helpful if you told me what exactly you were worried about, yeah? I think I have the right to know if you're in any sort of danger."

"Rose, there's nothing you need to know until we're one hundred percent certain I'm in any kind of danger. I'll probably be fine, I still have plenty of Time Lord in me, that should help combat any sort of trouble."

"Yeah? Doctor, I know you, and I know we wouldn't be here if you didn't think there would be trouble. Look, I spent three years searching for the oth-" Rose paused for a second, " searching for you all over the multiverse, yeah? So I'm not about to let you go and get hurt because you're to damn stubborn to tell me what you think could be happening."

Just as the words left Rose's mouth, the results of the tests began to print. She went to pick them up before the Doctor, but he was too fast and grabbed them right from under her hand. He gave her a stern look, one she had grown very familiar with. "Don't," he warned, "You wouldn't even understand it if you did read it." Then his expression softened into a grin. "Besides, whatever these papers say, everything will be fine. We'll be fine." He looked down and began to read the confusing symbols and markings on the paper. "Everything normal so far, no fluctuations in heart rate, all the synapses firing properly, that's brilliant!" He continued to read and his face fell, just for a second, but he quickly put on a smile again. "Everything is great! No trouble, I was wrong. Everything is perfect. Molto Bene! Anyway, are you hungry? I'm famished. You want Chinese? I could do with a bit of-"

"Doctor, you're covering something up, I see it in your face, now what is it?"

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing. Just has to do with what I told you about Donna. Well, a bit like what I told you about Donna, but not exactly. But it's nothing to worry about. Now common, Chinese." He went to grab his keys but realized Rose already had them.

"No, Doctor, you're not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on." Rose looked determined, and he faltered for a moment. He hadn't meant for this to happen. He hadn't even known this could happen, and he was sure the other him hadn't thought it could either, or he wouldn't have left Rose here. "Now, what d'ya mean, it's a bit like what you told me about Donna? You mean you're going to have to forget everything or die? That's not exactly nothing you know Doctor."

Rose felt tears sting behind her eyes. How could she say goodbye to the Doctor again? How was any of this fair to her? How was it fair to the Doctor? She cared for him more than anyone else in Pete's World. It wasn't fair to her family, but she couldn't deny it. He was the one last bit of her old life left, and although she was still very much in love with her old Doctor, she new that she would grow to love her half-human Doctor every bit as much, even more in the future. She couldn't bear the thought of living her life without him again, particularly not now that she had spent so much time doing ordinary, domestic things with him.

"It's not as bad as with Donna, Rose," He walked over to where she was sitting on the counter and pulled her into an embrace, "I promise you, it's not nearly as bad as with Donna." He pulled up a chair and sat by her, his feet up on the console. The position they were in was very reminiscent of those times on the TARDIS, with her propped up on the console, and him in the jump seat. Times were so much simpler then, before they were caught up in affairs in Pete's World, getting covered in void stuff, being pulled through dimensions, having hands growing into bodies. It was better before all of the goodbyes, and the being-left-behind-without-goodbyes. He pulled himself out of his reverie when he noticed the stinging in his own eyes, catching himself before he started to tear up in front of Rose. This half-human body was much worse at holding back tears.

The Doctor continued, determined not to upset Rose, "You see, with Donna, she was all human. She had my frankly magnificent Time Lord mind, packed inside the less-than-magnificent human body. No offense, " he added when he realize he was being rude, "However, I'm half Time-Lord, so my body is much more equipped to handle this sort of thing. I can handle the headaches with a bit of ibuprofen. The issue is, I have a sort of link with the other me, right? The Time Lord in me is directly connected to him. My life, the Time Lord bit at least, is bonded to his. Which is fine, it wouldn't affect us at all in our daily life. However, there is the matter of regeneration. If the other Doctor regenerates, the Time Lord bit of me will die too."

"But that's ok yeah? Because you've got enough human in you to continue living a life with me. Because you promised you would, so you're not gonna just die on me now." Rose's eyes were now swimming with tears. She looked up at the Doctor for any sort of consolation, some conformation that she wasn't going to be alone.

"I do have enough human in me to live Rose," he said, and her eyes lit up, "but once I'm all human physically, the Time Lord mind will do to me what it did to Donna."

Rose was now sobbing. He got out of his chair and pulled her into his arms. He couldn't stand to see her cry. She was all he had in the world. She was all he had in this universe, and to see her so broken hearted was a nightmare to him. He had seen her crying too much in the last eight months, he never wanted to see her in tears again. He wanted to be able to take all of her pain away, but he new he couldn't. Not this him, not the half-human him. He cursed his Time Lord self for leaving her in so much pain, and now he was telling Rose that he may do the same.

"Rose, love, please, don't worry. Time Lords can go for hundreds of years without regenerating. Chances are we'll have grown old on our own before he regenerates. I'm not leaving you. Traveling together forever, remember?" he says, and then kisses her forehead. He feels her tense up, and he wonders if kissing her was pushing her too hard. So far the two of them had only just begun to regularly hold hands, and his worst fear was pushing her away. However, she relaxed and squeezed onto him for a moment and then let go, looking up at him with a teary smile.

"You swear you're not going anywhere?" she asked, and he nodded, reassuring her with his soft gaze. She gave him her famous tongue-in-tooth grin, "Good, someone's gotta be there to chauffeur me around the universe when the TARDIS is done." He smiled at her, "Now what about that Chinese, hm?" she continued, "You better be paying, I've covered for you plenty."

"Oh, alright. I suppose I still owe you for those chips after the end of the world. What do you say we get take out, though? We could eat at my place and watch an old Disney film?" He and Rose had loved to watch old Disney films on the TARDIS on the nights when both Rose and the TARDIS needed some rest. It was something she had always done with her mum when she was little, and something that she had forced his old, northern self to do with her (ok, forced is a little bit of an exaggeration. He would never admit it, but his old self loved those silly singing cartoons. And he also loved spending some quiet time with a certain Blonde earth girl, too, but he would deny that as well). His new body was more open in his love for cartoon musicals, however, and really enjoyed the habit that they fell into. They hadn't continued this little routine of theirs since they were separated, however, and the Doctor was nervous she'd reject him.

"Yeah, all right" she said, after a brief pause, smiling up at him again, relieving any nervousness he had about the matter. "How about Beauty and the Beast, yeah? That's always a good one."

"Anything you want, Rose Tyler. Allons-y!" he proclaimed, taking her hand and bounding out of the medical center.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi again! Thanks to everyone who favorited & followed! ****Reviews are very welcome, and constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks so much! Also, you can follow me on Tumblr if you want, my url is the same as my penname. I may post updates or information about updates there before I do here. Anyway, enjoy Chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the related characters.**

The Doctor stood standing in the console room of the TARDIS, staring at the console trying to decide where he should head next. He had just returned from his visit to the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt in the 42 century, and was considering prolonging his encounter with Ood Sigma yet again. He thought of Barcelona for a second, the planet, not the city, but he pushed that thought out of his head knowing it would be too upsetting to go alone after he never got to keep his promise of taking Rose there. He wondered if Pete's World had a Barcelona, maybe she could still go with the other him once their TARDIS coral was fully grown.

"She really would love those dogs with no noses…." he mumbled to himself flipping some switches. He quickly pulled his mind out of his reminiscing about Rose, switching his thoughts back to his next destination. "What do you think old girl?" he asked the TARDIS, "How about Earth Barcelona, the city? 1905. We could visit Picasso. Haven't seen him for years! He still owes me five _pesetas _from that bet we had? Or we could go to the Twelfth Star System of the Prexlan Galaxy. They have fantastic Hyper-Vodka Martinis at this excellent bar on a spaceport near Poosh." He felt the TARDIS jerk beneath his feet. "Oi! I thought you were on my side about this!" He felt another jerk. "I'm not trying to _change_ a fixed point, exactly", he shouted at the counsel, "Only…delay it a bit…" He heard the TARDIS give a violent-sounding hum, and an image of Adelaide Brooke flashed into his head. "I don't need a reminder about Adelaide, thanks, I learned my lesson on messing with History," he snapped.

There was a long pause before the Doctor did anything. He weighed his options for a moment before he finally sighed. "Fine, we'll go to the Ood Sphere and see what they have to say. But if they give me anymore prophecies about my 'song ending' or if I hear 'he will knock four times' one more time…" he trailed off, entering coordinates and flipping switches on the console.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS into the snowy landscape, wearing a Stetson and lei had gotten from the gift shop at the Phosphorous Carousel. He spotted Ood Sigma standing in the snow a little a ways from the TARDIS. '_Well this oughta be interesting_' he thought. He started to make his way toward the Ood. "Ah! Now, sorry. There you are. So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn't I?" He tried to maintain a casual, disinterested appearance while speaking to the Ood. "An Ood in the snow, calling to me. Well, I didn't exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, you know. Travelled about, did this and that. Got into trouble. You know me." He could tell that the Ood was neither interested nor amused by the Doctors stories. '_Like it matters what he thinks. If he's sending me to my death then I think I have a right to at least try to enjoy myself_.' He continued with his tales. "It was brilliant. I saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt, saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw, named a galaxy Alison. Got married. That was a mistake. Good Queen Bess. And let me tell you, her nickname is no longer. Ahem. Anyway, what do you want?" he asked, pretending to be unaware of his impending doom.

"You should not have delayed," Ood Sigma replied calmly.

"The last time I was here you said my song would be ending soon, and I'm in no hurry for that." The Doctor knew he sounded rude, and he didn't care.

"You will come with me."

"Hold on. Better lock the Tardis," said the Doctor as he pulled out his TARDIS key. He pointed it at the TARDIS and the light flashed as the door locked, "See? Like a car. I locked it like a car. Like. It's funny. No? Little bit? Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh. So how old are you now, Ood Sigma?" he asked, and looked around at the city in front of him, noticing the progress the Ood have made since his last visit with Donna. '_She would have been so happy to see how far they came since we left,_' he thought, '_All thanks to her. The DoctorDonna. My best friend. The Most Important Woman in the Whole of Creation_.' He missed Donna; she was like a sister to him. It was so cruel how she could never remember any of the time they spent together. "Ah," he said, trying to push any thoughts of his long-lost friend out of his head, "Magnificent. Oh, come on, that is splendid. You've achieved all this in how long?"

"One hundred years," replied the Ood, admiring his people's achievements.

"Then we've got a problem," said the Doctor, seeing the advancements that should take at least half a millennium to develop, "Because all of this is way too fast. Not just the city, I mean your ability to call me. Reaching all the way back to the twenty first century. Something's accelerating your species way beyond normal."

"And the Mind of the Ood is troubled," the Ood continued, seeming to agree with the Doctor.

"Why, what's happened?"

"Every night, Doctor, every night we have bad dreams."

* * *

Rose and the Meta-Crisis Doctor sat at their favorite Pizza Parlor after work. Three months had passed since they returned to their old habit of take-out and Disney films. Since then they had continued to develop their relationship. It started with small things, like grabbing dinner together after work on Fridays, but had since grown into bigger things, like movies and zoo trips and museum visits. About a month ago was the biggest development in their relationship since she started speaking to him again. They had just gotten back from their trip to the Natural History Museum and he was dropping her off at her flat, when she had kissed him. It was nothing too special, just a small peck on the lips, but it meant so much more than that to the Doctor, having been their first kiss since Bad Wolf Bay.

"So do you really think I'll like it?" asked Rose, pulling the doctor out of his reverie.

"What?" He asked, remembering where he was. '_Oh yeah, movie date. No, not date, don't call it that, Rose isn't ready to call them dates ye_t' he corrected himself.

"Do you really think I'll like the film?" Rose asked, "I mean, something just feels weird about a CGI Disney Princess film."

"No! You'll love it!" He replied, in disbelief that she could be skeptical about a movie he considered one of his favorite Disney Films. "Tangled is brilliant! The music is great and the story is wonderful! I've been waiting for it to come out for so long in your timeline. I was beginning to get worried they wouldn't have it in Pete's World."

"Yeah? Good. I won't have you taking me out on lame dates, mister," she said, giving her tooth in tongue smile, not noticing the significance of her word choice.

"Oh don't worry, you won't be disappointed," the Doctor replied, feeling a flutter in his stomach after hearing her call their dinner a date. "So, you all finished up?"

"Mhm. Just let me run to the loo and we can get going"

* * *

The film had ended and the Doctor was now walking Rose back to her flat. He was right, she really had enjoyed the film, which made him quite happy.

"That really was fantastic," she said, "The music was brilliant like you said. And the story was just so relatable for a fairy tale, you know? I mean, I totally understand how Rapunzel felt, trapped in a dull life, no real future, just dying to get out of a routine."

"Remind you of someone you know, hm?" the Doctor teased, "Beautiful blonde swept away to an adventure by a handsome, exciting man?"

"Oh hush you," Rose said, blushing a bit, "You think you're handsome, eh? You wish. Jack on the other hand? Now he was the Flynn Rider type. Strapping and charming, a bit of a criminal? You're more of a Pascal," she teased, knowing it would get to him.

"Oi! I'm charming! And yes, as a matter of fact, I do think I'm handsome. This if probably my best look yet," he said, adjusting his tie.

Rose looked him over, and based on what she had heard from him about his other bodies and clothing choices, she had to agree with him. He still insisted on wearing the tight, pinstriped suits and trainers almost everywhere, but it suited him. She saw him notice her checking him out and immediately averted her eyes, changing the subject. "I think the best fit for us is Beauty and the Beast."

"Oh? Why's that?" he asked, gazing down at her, noticing how beautiful she looked in the soft glow of the street lamps.

"Well, there's a girl who wants to get out of the simple life she has, yeah? And she meets an angry, broken man. They have their fights, but they begin to care for one another. And in the end, he becomes better," she says. They reach her flat and stop walking. She looks up at him, noticing how intense his gaze was. "And he changes. Not entirely, mind you. He get's a new face and a new voice," she continues, lowering her voice, looking into his eyes, "He's a bit prettier and a lot happier, and a lot more like her," she says, placing a hand on his cheek. Her voice now barely a whisper, she continues, "But underneath he's still the same. The very same man that she cares for with all of her heart."

The Doctor said nothing, looking down at the wonderful, brilliant woman he loved, the feeling of her hand on his cheek burning like fire. He was inches away from Rose, now, and he sense everything, the smell of her hair, the beating of her heart, the shaking in her breathe, all of it around his, numbing his mind. And just like that he felt her lips pressed against his. Stiffened for a second, but then relaxed, snaking an arm around her back and pulling her close. She moved the hand that was on his cheek and ran it through his hair, moving her other arm to wrap in around his neck. She opened her mouth lightly and heard the Doctor moan softly against her lips.

"Rose"

She gently pulled away from him and rested her head against his chest. She stayed in his embrace for a moment, and new this was it. She needed him to stay with her tonight. Rose needed to sleep like this, warm in his arms, and she new he needed to as well.

But then she heard it, the beating of his one human heart, and her mind flashed to her home world. She thought of the other Doctor, possibly alone after losing Donna, and it hurt. She felt wrong. She new she couldn't go this far with her Doctor, not yet. Not when her mind was on the other Doctor. It wasn't fair to either of them. So she pulled out of his embrace and looked up at him with a half smile.

"Good Night, Doctor." She saw a flash of sadness in his eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and he smiled.

"Good Night, Rose," he said. He bent down and placed a small peck on her cheek before turning and heading home.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I've been busy starting up the new semester! Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! ****Thanks so much! Also, you can follow me on Tumblr if you want, my url is the same as my penname. I may post updates or information about updates there before I do here. Anyway, enjoy Chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the related characters.**

"Morning, love! I thought we could head over to Pete and Jackie's early and have some breakfast before we watch Tony." The Doctor was standing in the doorway to Rose's flat, beaming at her disheveled form; seemingly oblivious to the glare he was receiving.

"Doctor, it's six in the morning on a Saturday, we don't have to watch Tony 'til eleven. I thought this new human body of yours needed more sleep." Rose knew she sounded like a whining child, but she couldn't stand being woken up this early, especially when she had planed to sleep for at least another two hours.

"Well, I do need more sleep, but I get a good five hours at night, and that's usually enough," He stated, pulling off his coat and hanging it on the rack by the door. "Besides, couldn't wait to see me favorite human," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"You could've at least called and told me you were coming, I'm not even dressed. You want a cuppa?" she asked as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Well, it's not as if I haven't seen you in your jim-jams before. You practically lived in them whenever we took a slow day on the TARDIS." The Doctor pulled out the kettle and filled it with water. This had become a routine for them in the morning. He would come over, they'd have tea and maybe some toast and eggs, and usually he's end up going on about how the TARDIS was growing, or his latest pet project at Torchwood, or differences between Pete's world and her home universe, or whatever else was going on in his head at the time. Usually, however, she would be up and dressed. Rose new that he'd seen her looking far worse, but she couldn't help feeling strangely about it now that they were becoming more intimate. She new it was silly of her to care so much, and that her appearance had never been something she was overly concerned with, but now she caught the Doctor looking at her much more often, and she couldn't help but want to look her best around him. "Besides," he continued, pulling her out of her thoughts as if he could read her mind, "You're absolutely beautiful no matter what you're wearing."

"For a human, yeah?" she teased, remembering their second trip in the TARDIS together. The Doctor poured himself and Rose a cup of tea and took the seat across from her at the table.

"Oh, for any species, Rose Tyler. I was a bit daft back then wasn't I? Always trying to cover up how I felt about you. Now I can say exactly what I think about you tough, can't I? And I think that no matter how you dress, you Rose Tyler, are the most beautiful creature, human or otherwise, in the whole of creation," he declared, placing his feet on the table and taking a sip of his tea.

"Oh, shut up, you're just trying to get back on my good side," she teased, although she felt her stomach doing flips at his words, blood rushing to her cheeks, turning them a deep pink, "I'm onto you, mister, you're not gonna get away with waking me up out of a dead sleep that easily."

"Oh, what are you gonna do to me? Punish me?" the Doctor questioned, tongue poking between his teeth, his eyebrows waggling.

"I just might have to, Doctor," she said, getting up from her chair and walking towards him. Rose was quite nervous, worried that the Doctor may try to retreat from her advances. Still, she wanted to maintain a confident appearance, so she ignored her heart's frantic beating.

The Doctor felt his own single heart speed up as she approached, surprised at the direction Rose was taking the conversation, but certainly not opposed to it. Rose looked down at him with something in her eyes that the Doctor hadn't seen in a very long while. She sat down on his lap, hooking one arm around his neck, and looked deep into his eyes. She continued, not breaking eye contact, "How do think the Vice-Director of Torchwood feels, having a half-alien effect her health, depriving her of sleep. This could be taken as a threat to my life, Doctor," she whispered, cheeky smile on her lips, just inches from him.

The Doctor gulped, feeling his whole mouth go dry. Rose had never been this brazen with him before, and he could feel his body reacting to her touch. He let his eyes close and felt his body tune in to the feeling of Rose's pressed so close to him. "And what, uh, exactly is the Vice-Director of Torchwood going to do about this a-alien threat?" he managed to whisper, barely able to breathe as she raked her fingers through his hair.

"Hmm, probably take him into custody. Lock him up in one of the cells below Canary Warf. Make sure he's restrained. Of course, she'll have to examine him," she breathed into his ear, "The anatomy of a Time Lord still remains a mystery to those of us at Torchwood, you see…" she trailed off as she readjusted herself so she was now straddling him. The Doctor groaned, bucking his hips up slightly. She took the hand that was not tangled in his hair and ran it along his chest. "Feels very human, but I may need a closer inspection," she said, lust lacing every word. She moved her hand so that it ran under his shirt and felt the smooth skin underneath, reveling in the feeling of it, warm and soft and absolutely flawless. Grazing her fingers just below his naval, feeling the trail of small, soft hairs leading down below the belt where she could feel his growing want. She leaned in and placed her lips against his, savouring the velvet feel of him. This kiss was much more passionate, much more needy then their previous kisses. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip, begging for entrance to his warm mouth, but he was to quick and instead he plunged his own tongue into her mouth, drawing a soft moan out of her. She could feel the wetness pooling between her legs now, her body preparing itself for her Doctor.

Although some of his senses were a bit less sensitive then in his Time Lord body, the Doctor could still smell Rose's arousal quite clearly. He let out a growl as he got up out of his chair and pushed her up onto the table, her legs still around his waist. He moved his mouth off of hers and buried his face in her neck, breathing in the intoxicating aroma of her hormones. Pushing her harder into the table, he ground his hips against her center whilst running his tongue from her collarbone to her earlobe. Rose elicited a whimper, moving her hands so they were tangled in his hair. "And what if the alien tries to resist the Vice-Director, Rose? He's certainly quite a bit stronger then she is. He could easily over-power her," he growled, grinding hard against her so she was sure to feel his want for her. She tried to reply, but her words were caught in her throat, and all that escaped was a low moan.

All thoughts of their role-play slowly melted out of his head as the gorgeous woman in front of him consumed his thoughts. He leaned down and placed soft kisses along her clavicle and the top of her chest. Rose moved her hands to unbutton his shirt, wanting to feel more of him. "I meant it, you know, Rose," the Doctor said, between the rhythmic grinding and kissing, "You are absolutely, without a doubt, the most beautiful, most brilliant thing I have ever encountered." He moved his lips up to her ear and whispered, "I love you so much Rose. More then you could possibly know." Rose felt her eyes well up with tears at his words, and she knew that she felt the same way. She loved the man who was with her with every shred of her existence, the man who comforted her when she was stranded for a second time in Norway. The man who had promised he would never leave her alone, and who had been there for her no matter how coldly she treated him in the beginning. She opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't get past "I", the words still feeling heavy on her tongue. "You don't need to say the words yet, Rose. I know. I understand. But I'll be here whenever you're ready to. I swear I will always be here," he whispered, pressing a kiss on her cheek. He ran his hands down her sides until they reached the hem of her shirt. "Are you sure you feel ready for this with me, love?" She moaned in reply, and he began to pull her shirt up, when the phone rang.

Rose felt like she was doused with ice water and she snapped back to reality. "I-I need to get that, Doctor," she said sheepishly. When she saw the embarrassed look on his face, she placed a thumb on his cheek and gave him a small peck to assure him that she wasn't second-guessing herself. She wanted him desperately, but she knew her first time with the Doctor shouldn't be on her table at six forty-five in the morning. "Although, I don't understand why anyone remotely important would be calling at this hour."

As she made her way over to her mobile on the counter, the Doctor watched as she swayed her hips unintentionally. '_I absolutely need to wake Rose out of a dead sleep more often_,' he thought, '_almost shagging Rose Tyler is definitely an activity I want to participate in first thing in the morning. Well, actually shagging Rose Tyler might be even better first thing in the morning. I will certainly be coming back to see if that's a possibility_.'

Rose picked up the phone and held it to her ear without checking the caller ID. "Hello?" she said, voice still hoarse. The Doctor walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck from behind. Snogging Rose like that had awakened something in the Doctor, and now all he wanted to do was kiss her and touch her. He ground against her back, letting her know that he was still very, very hard.

"You tell that bloody alien to stop messing with my appliances!" Jackie Tyler's voice rang in her ears. "I went to use the microwave this morning and ever bloody drop of water within twenty feet of it boiled! You dad's gonna have bloody third-degree burns in his mouth from his orange juice. I don't care what the Doctor was trying to do to it, but now my kitchens gonna be a bloody sauna!"

"Good morning to you too, mum," Rose replied, rolling her eyes. The Doctor heard Rose and her mum's conversation and paused the affection he was giving Rose, now focused on her shoulder. He flinched at the thought of the slap he was going to get when he saw Jackie today. Then he thought of the even bigger slap he would get if Jackie had known what he and Rose were up to just a moment ago. Rose continued, "Look, mum, why don't the Doctor and I come over a little earlier today and he could try to fix it."

"He better! Lord only knows I'm a saint with all the patience I have with that man! Really, Rose, why did you have to fall in love with an alien?"

The sound of Jackie's shrill voice alleviated some of the strain the Doctor was feeling in his trousers. He couldn't help but pull the phone from Rose's hand and yell back at her. "Oh, love you too, Jackie!"

"Are you listening in on my calls? Who do you think you are?" Jackie's indignant voice came through the phone. "That's illegal, it is! I'll have you for this!"

The Doctor, now flustered and offended at the idea that someone could think he would monitor Jackie Tyler's phone calls, replied "Jackie, I'm not-" However, before he could finish, Rose plucked the phone out of his hand and gave him a stern look.

"Mum, he's in the room with me, he's not listening in on your calls. You're just being loud! We'll be over in an hour," Rose dismissed, losing her patience with her mother. "Good bye, mum."

"Good bye, sweetheart. Give that Doctor of yours a slap for me."

Rose rolled her eyes and put the phone away. "Doctor, what did you do to mums microwave? I told you to stop making 'improvements' to her appliances, you know she hates it."

"But it's so much more efficient now! I mean the technology in that thing was borderline prehistoric! Jackie really should be thanking me," the Doctor replied, tucking back in his shirt and readjusting his tie. "Now, Rose Tyler," he continued, placing his hands on her hips, looking deep into her eyes, "As much as I would love to continue what we started, and trust my, I would _really_ love to continue, I do think you better get dressed for the day so we can head over to Pete and Jackie's. I expect the longer we keep your mother waiting, the harder the inevitable Jackie Tyler slap will be."

"Suppose you're right Doctor," replied Rose, snaking her arms around the Doctors neck, "I wouldn't want mum to damage your pretty-boy face." She placed a small peck on the corner of his mouth, lingering for just a second. "Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Would you wanna maybe stay here tonight?" Rose asked, blushing a bit, eyes not fully meeting his, "We could order in? And than you could stay the night. I-if you want, I mean."

"Oh, Rose Tyler, I would love to stay here with you tonight," he stated, eyes lighting up, a grin spreading on his lips. "This flat happens to be one of my favorite places on Earth. How could I refuse an offer to stay here? My own flat has a distinct lack of Rose, its almost unbearable. However, this flat has all the Rose I could ever want."

"You really like this place?" Rose questioned, as she made her way to her bedroom to get dressed for the day, "I always thought it was missing something. I could never exactly put my finger on it, but I think it needs something skinny and pin-striped, and a bit alien," she called from inside her room.

"Well, I certainly meet those requirements. I would be happy to make this place a bit more livable to you," he replied, still in the kitchen, sonic screwdriver in hand. He picked up the toaster and started to sonic it.

"I'll have to think about it, Doctor. I'm not really in the market for a flatmate at the moment!" she teased, as she pulled her pajama top over her head. Rose went to her closet and picked out a fitted sweater, one that she knew the Doctor liked on her.

"Oh, I'm certain I'd make a brilliant flatmate, Rose! I'd make you breakfast in bed and give you massages after work. I'd for cook you every night, all your favourites!" He began to pull apart the toaster, removing the coil and soniced it for a second.

"Sounds like you wanna be a bit more then flatmates, Doctor," stepping out of the room, fully dressed, with a hairbrush in hand.

"Only if you want, love. Course, I don't know how you couldn't, me being brilliant, and a bit pretty too, might I add," he boasted, now taking out some sort of metal chip in his pocket, placing it in the toaster and wiring it to one of the springs.

"Well, you're definitely not gonna move in if you keep messing with my stuff!" Rose groaned when she noticed the Doctor tinkering away, "Seriously, you need to stop trying to 'improve' everything. No wonder mum is always slapping you. You really do bring it on yourself."

"Oi! I'm just trying to help!" the Doctor insisted, "Really, all I was trying to do was work like the one on the TARDIS. You know, the one that made toast in less then thirty seconds? Well, like that one but better. I can try to get it to play songs when the toast is done."

"Doctor, I'm really quite content with my non-singing toaster. And I can wait a few minutes for toast. Now put my toaster back together, the way it was," she asserted when she noticed him tying to keep his modifications, "and lets get going. Mum's gonna kill you if you're late."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, putting the last bits of the toaster back together. He took Rose by the hand and made his way toward the door, eager to spend his whole day with his Rose.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi again everyone! I'm so sorry this chapter has taken me so long to get out there, school has pretty much taken over my life. To all of those who have favorited, followed, or reviewed, thank you so much for your patience! ****I really appreciate it! Also, if you've followed me on tumblr, I may be starting a new blog devoted to my fanfiction alone, so I'll keep you posted on that. (edit: Just started my Doctor Who sideblog, fics will be posted there too from now on. The URL is the-wolf-in-the-police-box . tumblr . com. I'll probably change my penname to match) **

**Thanks so much!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the related characters.**

"And that's why Batman would _have_ to be the King of Middle Earth," explained Tony, speaking a mile a minute, "Because Princess Leia and Indiana Jones are busy being the Captains of the Black Pearl, and Wonder Woman is Queen of Hogwarts." The frantic toddler had his enormous Lego collection out, describing the complex system he had in place in terms of the various governments that ran each realm of his Lego kingdom. The logic he used to develop this system would only make sense to a four year-old-boy, or, apparently a nine hundred-year-old Time Lord. The Doctor and Tony were deeply involved in their game, while Rose simply sat and watched the two of them fondly, wondering how she had become lucky enough to be able to keep both her Doctor and her human life.

"And then that would mean, if my logic is correct," the Doctor responded, enthralled in the game, "and my logic almost always is," he added with a smirk, "That Hermione Granger is Empress of the TARDIS," the Doctor finished, pointing at the custom Time Lord Lego set he made for Tony as a birthday gift. The toddler nodded his head with a large grin. "Well, Tony Tyler, I can't say as I could think of any woman more qualified to run the TARDIS," he declared, "Except for your brilliant sister, that is," he added, winking at Rose.

"Me? Qualified to run the TARDIS? I think that's one of the nicest things you've ever said to me," Rose replied, a blush creeping up on her cheeks. The Doctor had been flirting with her the whole time they were watching Tony, and it kept making her mind wander back to this morning, and by extension turned her thoughts to what she and the Doctor were going to get up to tonight. She kept thinking of very, very naughty things, naughty things that she should not be thinking about at the moment. She was supposed to be watching her little brother, not imaging the Doctor naked, kissing down her neck, nuzzling into her chest, hand moving between her thighs right up to where- No! No dirty thoughts right now.

"Nonsense Rose, I'm always nice to you. I distinctly remember being _very_ nice to you this morning," the Doctor commented, his tone brazen and dripping with lust. His face was still completely stoic and turned towards the Lego set, but he eyes her dark with need. Roses mouth hung open for a second, shocked by his cheek. She knew that he must have been able to smell her mild arousal, but never expected him to make such a bold comment. She sat in stunned silence, struggling to find words. In a second his eyes lightened and he turned to Tony, "Could you pass me the Millennium Falcon? Spiderman needs to talk to Luna Lovegood," he said, changing the subject and his tone in an instant.

'Fine,' Rose thought to herself, 'If he insists on teasing me, then I'll show no mercy later.' She knew that both she and the Doctor were both desperate for what tonight had in store, but she couldn't help letting her competitive streak get the better of her.

"Rosie?" Tony pulled her out of her thoughts, "I'm hungry. Can you and the Doctor make me lunch? I want ice cream."

Rose was about to tell him that he would have to eat something more nutritious for lunch when the Doctor interjected. "Excellent idea Tony. How about some sundaes for lunch? Sound good?" the Toddler nodded frantically, ecstatic at the thought of actually getting an ice cream sundae for lunch. Rose gave the Doctor a disapproving look, but he ignored it as he continued, "Brilliant! Now, Rose and I will make the sundaes, you just clean up these Legos. We can eat out in the garden! I need to check up on the TARDIS coral anyway."

"Oh, can I water it?" Tony begged, "Please, please, please?"

"Tony, the TARDIS doesn't really need-" Rose began, but the Doctor cut her off.

"Of course you can, Tony my man!" the Doctor exclaimed, with a wink to Rose, "The TARDIS certainly needs to get to know you, what with all the travelling we're going to do in it once it's grown. Now, put away your Legos and meet us in the garden in five minutes." Tony nodded, picking up the various colored bricks from the ground.

Rose and the Doctor started down the hall towards the kitchen. "Mum's going to be furious when she finds out that you're giving Tony ice cream for lunch, you know," Rose stated, glancing up at him, "Sometimes I swear you live to make that woman angry."

"She's always angry at me, so might as well at least enjoy myself. Besides, why should Tony have to suffer just because your mother always has irrational anger towards me?"

"It's not irrational, Doctor, it really isn't good for him to be having ice cream for lunch."

"It's not that bad for him Rose. I mean, put it into perspective. It's not as bad as, say, a Gillwatian Root Salad from the planet Efrrilac. Perfectly harmless to the Efrrilaci, but can make a human ill for weeks," the Doctor explained, rounding a corner into the kitchen, opening the freezer and pulling out the strawberry and chocolate ice cream, "So really, ice cream is rather good for him."

"Whatever you say, Doctor. Just don't expect me to defend you when mum goes to yell at you for getting Tony all hyped up on sugar."

"That's a myth, Rose," He stated, scooping out the ice cream into three bowls, "Sugar doesn't actually cause hyperactivity."

"Yeah? Try telling that to my mum when she's angry at you." Rose pulled out some various topping for the ice cream out of the refrigerator. She handed them to the Doctor and watched for a few minutes as he expertly crafted the sundaes, his face completely focused on his task. She watched as he sliced a banana into perfectly even pieces and placed them carefully into the ice cream, then took chocolate sauce and drizzled it over the ice cream in a complicated, lace-like pattern, resulting in what looked like a chocolate doily. He placed a strawberry in the exact center of each ice cream, concentrating hard on not disrupting the design of the chocolate. Rose couldn't help put smile fondly at the man in front of her, enjoying how enthralled in his task he appeared to be. It reminded her of how immersed he would get in his tinkering on the TARDIS. She was so pleased that their own TARDIS would soon be done, and she and the Doctor would be back to seeing the stars, just as they had before. "Doctor? Did you mean what you said to Tony earlier? About him coming with us on the TARDIS?"

The Doctor looked up from his sundae-making to meet her gaze, his eyes flickering with a hint of worry. "Yes. I did- I mean, if you want. Do you want? Because I mean if you don't- but he can, and if you do! That is, only if you do," he babbled away, his tone a bit anxious, as if he was worried that she would be angry with him inviting Tony without asking her, "And if you're nervous- 'cause TARDIS travel is dangerous, but we can only go somewhere safe with him. I mean, if you say he can come. If- If you want him…to come…" he trailed off at the end, waiting for her response.

"Of course I don't mind if he comes," she giggled, leaning over to kiss his cheek. He gave her a wide grin. "I just thought it might be a bit _domestic _for you, having a little kid running around on board."

"No, not anymore! I'm part human now, could do with a bit of domestics!" He smiled brightly, "Besides, Tony is brilliant, he'd make a wonderful companion for us! Of course, this is all theoretical. It depends on if Jackie even lets him come with us. Now," he said placing the ice creams on a tray, "Lets go out and have ourselves a picnic in the Garden. Shall we, Dame Rose?" he asked, holding out his arm for her to take.

"Absolutely, Sir Doctor." She linked her arm with his. They made their way to the garden in companionable silence. When the reached the door to the outside, the Rose turned to the Doctor, her eyes heavy, "By the way, if you continue to tease me in front of Tony," she whispered in his ear, her breath tickling his skin. He voice was lusty and full of want; "I might not be as _nice _to you tonight as I was this morning. Understand?" He nodded slowly, his eyes looking a bit dazed, and his mouth dry, "Good." She gaze him a firm squeeze through his trousers, and he elicited a groan. She smirked before turning to go into the garden, "Tony, love, lunch is ready."

* * *

The Doctor, Rose and Tony had finished their ice cream and were now focused on the young TARDIS. The Doctor was rather pleased with the progress it was making, and expected that it would be fully grown in around two months. It had taken the form of a small shed in the garden for the time being. Tony had used a hose and doused the outside with water, having a one sided conversation with it. Rose and the Doctor had smiled fondly at the young boy as they watched him tell the box all about himself.

"He seems to be forming quite the bond with her," the Doctor beamed, "She likes him already. Just like his older sister. And because this TARDIS is genetically identical to the old one, it certainly has a very particular bond with you, Miss Bad Wolf. I can feel it, right in here," he stated, pointing to his forehead. He turned to Tony and the TARDIS. "And now, you too, there's something I've been meaning to show the both of you for quite sometime." He put his hand on the door to the shed and gave it a push, "I give you, our brand new, if still bit unfinished, TARDIS."

Rose gasped as she saw the inside of the shed. It was a plain white console room, with a metallic, six sided console right in the center. It was far from finished, but it thrilled her to know how close she was to being able to travel with the doctor again. She ran to the Doctor and wrapped her arms around with neck and gave him a tight squeeze. "This is amazing. Really, I can't wait to be able to travel again."

"Won't be long now! Then we can start seeing the universe, just you and me! And Tony of course," he announced brightly, turning his attention to the young boy, who stood dumbfounded next to the console, "What do you think, Tony? Live up to expectations?" Tony nodded frantically as the Doctor scooped him up, "I'm glad you like it Tony. You just wait 'til it's finished. There's gonna be a swimming pool. In the library! Now, I just need to being working on the circuits and modify the dimensional stabilizer, which might take me a few weeks. After that the TARDIS will just need some time to do some growing on its own, but when that's finished, she should be vortex worthy!"

"Anything I can do to help, Doctor?" Rose stood by his side as went below the console to start his work.

"Yeah actually, can you use your sonic to resonate the quantum pulse by the Time Rotor and read me back the sixth and seventh digits that come up on the monitor? Use setting B215."

"Ok," she replied, pulling out her sonic, which was actually his sonic from Donna's parallel words, but it had survived the collapse of that universe when she brought it into the prime one. She turned the sonic to setting B215 and began to resonate the pulse. Her years at Torchwood had certainly paid off, as she was now finally able to understand his techno-babble, at least to some extent. "Alright, the monitor reads '2' and '8'. "

"Molto Benne! Now, I'm going to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow of the gravity dampener for a moment, and the minute those number change to '7' and '9' I need you to reroute the temporal sensors."

"Yessir!" she stated, waiting for the monitor's reading to change, "Tony, can you hold down that red button there for me?" she asked, as the numbers switched over, "Thanks, love," she said as she soniced the console, "There you go! All done."

"Well done, Miss Tyler! And Mister Tyler!" the Doctor said, popping out from beneath the console, "That's all I'm gonna do today, the TARDIS will want her rest. We can come back tomorrow and-AHHHHHHH!" He doubled over, clutching his head, feeling as though his whole mind was on fire.

"Doctor, what's happened? Are you alright, what's wrong? Doctor!"

The last thing he heard was Rose calling him as he blacked out, his body feeling as though he was being burned alive.


End file.
